Frequently Asked Questions for the Short-Term Program

Eligibility-related Questions:

Q: Are you still eligible if you have the five-year teaching experience requirement but are currently not teaching K-12?A: No. You must be currently employed in a full-time K-12 position to be eligible for this program.

Q: Can speech therapists, guidance counselors, or other types of educators apply?A: Yes. As long as you work directly with students at least 50% of your time, you are eligible to apply. See the program eligibility requirements for additional information about the types of educators who are eligible to apply. Please also view the project proposal PDF of the project to which you are interested in applying for other eligibility requirements.

Q: My background is both in teaching as well as curriculum design. If I am not at present a teacher but instead a curriculum specialist, am I still eligible?A: Yes. As long as you work directly with students at least 50% of your time, you are eligible to apply.

Q: Can an applicant teach in a private school?A: Yes. Provided that your school is an accredited school in the U.S. or a U.S. territory, both public and private school teachers are eligible to apply for this program.

Q: Is there an age limit for applicants?A: No, provided that you meet the eligibility requirements, you are eligible to apply no matter your age.

Q: How do you ensure a diverse group of educators is represented?A: We are seeking all forms of diversity in our program. One example is that we are particularly interested in applications and inquiry project proposals that focus on serving underserved populations. We look at elements such as FARMS rates (Free and Reduced Meals) to determine if teachers are teaching in underserved communities.

Q: I have participated in other Fulbright programs. Am I eligible to apply?A: Yes.

Q: Is prior travel experience held against applicants? If so, is this any prior travel or just Fulbright experience?A: No. For this program, it is preferred if the applicant has some experience traveling or working abroad.

Program-related Questions:

Q: Are program expenses covered?A: Yes. All program expenses are provided for the participant during this program, such as living expenses in the host country, food, travel to/from the host country, etc. No funding for personal expenses is provided.

Q:How long is this program and when does it take place?A: In general, the projects range from approximately 2-6 weeks, with a preference for 3 or more weeks, between May and October 2017. Each project proposal includes the project’s time frame and duration, however, so please view each project summary for more details.

Q: May I apply for countries not listed in the 2017 program opportunities list?A: No. For this program, applicants may apply only for those projects available during the current year in the participating countries. Participating countries and program opportunities may change in future program years.

Q: I’ve reviewed the available projects and do not see any projects that relate to what I teach. My educational area is also not represented in the Subject Area Expertise section. Does that mean I am not eligible to apply? A: The short-term Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program is designed for U.S. K-12 teachers to work with an educational institution in one of the participating countries to address specific need(s) of that country as described in a project proposal. Assuming all other eligibility criteria are met, a teacher of any subject or educational practice area can apply for any available opportunity. That said, the strongest applications will be those that clearly demonstrate how the U.S. teacher can address the stated need(s) within the available timeframe, as well as demonstrate their expertise and skills to do so.

Q: How many applicants are selected for each project? Is it possible to apply as a team?A: Only one applicant will be selected for each project opportunity. Applicants are considered individually and team applications will not be accepted.

Q:Where will I live when I’m abroad?A: The host organization with which you will work while abroad will assist in finding housing for you while you are in the host country.

Q: Does bringing family members with you play a role in selection decisions?A: No. You are welcome to bring family with you but the participant will be responsible for all costs associated with family members’ travel and living expenses abroad.

Q: What about health care in the foreign country? What happens if I get sick?A: The U.S. Department of State provides a health benefit to participants of this program. This health benefit does not replace health insurance as it is only to be used for sickness and emergencies. We strongly recommend that all participants retain their current health insurance, if possible, or purchase private insurance while they are on the program. For more information on this program, please visit the Health Benefits Pan for Fulbright Teachers page of the website.

Q: How are selection decisions communicated? Are all applicants notified, whether they have been accepted or not? Is there ever a waiting list, dependent on the acceptance of those who've been selected?A: Selection decisions will be communicated to all applicants, regardless of selection result (accepted or not), via email once the selection process has been completed (see the Program Timeline section of the website for more information). There is a list of Alternate candidates selected in case Finalist candidates are not able to go abroad. If an opening becomes available, IIE will communicate this to the Alternate candidate.

Application-related Questions:

Q: I started an application for the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program. Can I use this application for the Short-Term Program?A: No. Applicants to the Short-Term Program must create a new application for the Short-Term Program as the two application systems are separate even though questions are similar.

Q: I started an application for the 2016 Short-Term Program. Can I use this application for the 2017 Short-Term Program?A: No. In the pilot year of the program (2016), a different application system was used so all applicants must create a new application for the 2017 Short-Term Program.

Q: How many references do we need? Do you want only education-related references?A: You need a total of three references – one from your immediate supervisor and two other professional references. The professional references should be provided by individuals who are familiar with your professional work and whom can share information about your ability to engage in the activities of this Fulbright Program abroad. These three references will be the only ones accepted; any references IIE receives in addition to these three will not be accepted. References must use the online form sent to them through the application and no supplemental reference letters will be accepted.

Q: My reference has not received an email with the login information. What should I do?A: Please ask your reference to check their spam/junk folders for the email and add This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to their safe senders list. Then, log into your application and re-send the email from the References section of the application. If the reference still does not receive it, please have them email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for technical support.

Q: What if I am interested in several of the participating countries?A: Applicants to the Short-Term Program may only apply for one country/project per application year.

Q: Does Leave Authorization Form need to be received by IIE before the deadline?A: All pieces of the application, including the Leave Authorization Form, must be received by 11:59pm CST on February 15, 2017. If we do not receive all pieces of your application by the deadline, your application will not be considered ‘complete’ and will not move on to the review stage.

Q: Is there a way to get confirmation of when the Leave Authorization Form and references are received?A: Within your online application, there is a separate section titled “References.” In this section, you can view when your references submit the online reference form, as well as see when IIE receives your Leave Authorization Form.

Q: Does our superintendent need to sign off or can my principal sign the Leave Authorization Form?A: If a Leave Authorization form is needed (see How To Apply section), the leave authorization form must be completed by the school official authorized to grant the required salary and leave arrangements. In most cases this is the superintendent but could be the head of Human Resources or another school official.

Q: Can you start an application and hold the application for a future Fulbright opportunity?A: If you begin an application for the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short-Term Program, it will be saved in our online application database. If you choose to re-apply next year for the program, the biographical data that you filled in this year will carry over to next year’s application. The application for this program cannot be used for any other Fulbright program.

Q: Do characters include the space in between text or just text?A: The character count includes all characters – spaces, bullet points, etc. When you copy and paste text into the online application, please check the end of your answer to ensure that it has not been cut off.

Q: Do you require a transcript from all colleges and universities attended?A: We require transcripts from all universities and colleges from which you received degrees. The applicant should scan and upload these transcripts into the system in the ‘File Upload’ section of the application. If there are any security locks on your transcripts, they should be removed before attempting to upload to the system. The transcripts should not be mailed to IIE.